Flower Street at Little India Klang - Part 1 Jasmine

On this October 26th 2011, the Hindu community of Malaysia will be celebrating Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, signifying the triumph of good over evil.

In Klang city where I stay, the Tengku Kelana Street, nicknamed "Little India" is all abuzz with activities. There are many stores selling lots of colourful items such as clothes, provisions, foodstuff, decorations, bling-bling, you name it-they have it.

The above is the Flower Street of Little India Klang. It is opened for business everyday.

“Flower Street at Little India Klang - Part 1”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on October 24th, 2011.

Jasminum sambac - native plant of India

The most popular flower during Deepavali season is the strongly scented Jasminum sambac (Arabian Jasmine). I have 2 varieties of Jasminum sambac in my garden; Maid of Orleans (above) and also the rose-like Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Many of us in Asia will have pleasant childhood memories of helping our mom and/or grandma pluck jasmine flowers for home use. The scent of jasmine is embedded in our cosmetics, toilettries, food and drinks. We name our daughters Jasmine or Yasmine and we also sing folk songs praising the beauty of jasmines. "Sampaguita" is the national flower of the Philippines and "Melati Putih" is one of the 3 national flowers of Indonesia.

Do you remember the scent of jasmine
(a) on your mother's hair?
(b) on the perfume a loved one wears?
(c) on the first night of matrimony or any special occassion or celebration?

Jasmine flowers are hand-picked in the early morning just before dew starts to form. The flower buds should be white, not green. These buds will exude the most fragrance. The buds can be packed in plastic bags and kept in the fridge until needed.

Pre-soaked jute strings are used to tie up the flower buds and made into flower garlands for honoured guests, as hair adornments, also for deities and the altar. The fragrance is strong enough to scent the whole room.

Jasmine flower buds are hand-strung into garlands, a skill passed down from one generation to the next. Flower ladies are called "pookari" in Tamil.

If flower ladies are called "pookari", what do you call a flower gentleman?

*Updated: Thank you very much for Vaish Vijay's comment:

'Pookaarar' is the term for men who make floral strings/garlands. Jasmin flower is very popular in my home town in Madurai, India. There down south, it is called as 'Madurai Malli' and the way they tie the flower itself is unique!

Roses, orchids and chrysanthemums are also used to make scented flower garlands.
The hanging green fruits on the left are citrus fruits called calamansi (calamondin) limes.
We can also buy loose flowers for floral baths.

Strung jasmines are sold by "arm-lengths". An arm-length is measured from the finger tips to the elbow. It costs about RM 1.00 per arm-length, sometimes more during the festive season.

Jasmine flowers are also used in Indian and Javanese wedding rituals and as prayer offerings by Hindus and Buddhists.

To all my Hindu friends, I'd like to dedicate this post to you and wish you

Happy Deepavali!

This is my entry for Our World Tuesday, formerly My World Tuesday founded by Klaus Peter, now hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy. The link is here.